Uni Wins First Lady Stakes in Course-Record Time
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Photo: Keeneland/Coady Photography
Uni wins the First Lady Stakes at Keeneland
Maybe it was a little hot, maybe the turf was a little firm. Regardless, Oct. 5 was not Rushing Fall's day.
Owner Bob Edwards of e Five Racing Thoroughbreds was left searching for excuses after the 6-5 favorite ran fourth in the $400,000 First Lady Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland—a race won in course-record time by her fellow Chad Brown trainee, Uni.
"It could have been a number of things," Edwards said. "We'll probably regroup, talk to Chad, and come up with a plan. Maybe kick her down to Stonestreet and let her winter down there, fatten up, and then come back and run her next year."
While Rushing Fall saw her 4-for-4 streak on the Lexington lawn snapped, Uni shipped to Kentucky for just the second time and emerged victorious by 2 1/2 lengths in the Breeders' Cup Challenge event for the Nov. 2 Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T). She sped a mile on firm turf in 1:32.87, paying $8 as the second choice in a field of 13.
The 5-year-old daughter of More Than Ready is not Breeders' Cup-nominated, and her connections—Michael Dubb, Head of Plains Partners, Robert LaPenta, and Bethlehem Stables—would be required to pay $100,000 in order for the mare to join the Breeders' Cup program as a Horse of Racing Age. Once that amount is paid, Uni would benefit from the automatic fees-paid berth awarded through the Breeders' Cup Challenge for her First Lady score.
Brown called the 1 1/4-mile Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf "a possibility" for Uni, who definitely stole the spotlight Saturday with her performance.
Ms Bad Behavior showed the way early in the race, leading by a half-length through swift fractions of :22.71, :45.40, and 1:09.47. Jockey Joel Rosario had Uni covered up along the inside, 11th through the half, before she was swung out seven wide entering the lane. Juliet Foxtrot, who moved up to second around the turn, took a short lead near the eighth pole but was no match for the winner in the final sixteenth.
"At some point, I thought (Rushing Fall) would have a little more speed than me and I'd be looking to see where she was and probably follow her and she'd put me in a good spot," Rosario said. "In the first turn, it looked like they were going pretty good speed, and I just followed Rushing Fall. (Uni) came with a nice run like she always does. She's unbelievable. She has a long stride, and she just kept coming and coming."
The win was a sixth for Uni at a mile and improved her record to 9-3-3 from 17 starts, with earnings of $1,247,880. She was bred in Great Britain by Haras D'Etreham out of the Dansili mare Unaided, who produced an Almanzor colt in 2019. She made six starts in Europe before her North American debut, a bold third in the 2017 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T) behind New Money Honey and Sistercharlie going 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park. Since then, she has finished no worse than fourth in 10 outs. She came off a third against open company in the Aug. 10 Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course, another mile test won by the filly Got Stormy.
Of the First Lady score, assistant trainer Whit Beckman said: "It's another addition to her tremendous career as a miler. She's real solid when she's put at this distance, and she's gone to multiple tracks and has shown that kick."
While trainer Brad Cox said runner-up Juliet Foxtrot is not likely for the Breeders' Cup, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Vasilika, the former claimer turned grade 1 winner, turned in a run that would merit a chance at the World Championships.
"She came from way back. The pace was fast and I think (jockey Flavien) Prat thought he could make up a lot of ground and he did in the end, but the stretch is too short here," Hollendorfer said. "We want to run in the Breeders' Cup. If we can do that, we'd like to do that, for sure."
Hollendorfer has been prohibited from racing or stabling at Santa Anita Park, where the World Championships will be held, since track owner The Stronach Group banned him June 22. But he said he does not believe he would need TSG permission to run Vasilika in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at the Southern California track.
"I don't have to get an OK from Santa Anita because the Breeders' Cup is totally in charge of the racetrack during that time period," Hollendorfer said. "I don't really know where I stand there, but I think we'll be all right."
Asked for comment, Breeders' Cup provided the following statement: "Breeders' Cup does not comment on the status of potential 2019 World Championships starters."